A horrific assault on a Chicago middle school student has given way to a wonderful act of generosity by Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs.
Anthony Rizzo goes above and beyond for boy beaten in horrific school assault
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Henry Sembdner, a 12-year-old from South Elgin, was assaulted after he bumped into another student in the hall of Kenyon Woods Middle School on Friday. The boy had to be placed in a coma after sustaining head injuries and facial fractures. After hearing about the assault, Anthony Rizzo reached out to the family.
This is a great gesture on its own, but Rizzo went further. Henry’s school found out about Rizzo’s overture and decided to wear Cubs gear to class in order to show support for the boy. Again, the Cubs superstar heard about it.
Since Monday his Twitter feed has been littered with photos of people supporting Henry by wearing Cubs gear. He hasn’t forgotten about the boy or his family, and they got the message loud and clear when support was needed the most.
Thankfully, Henry is OK and can finally rest at home with his family. The ugliness of this situation gave way to something amazing — as hundreds of people made a statement against bullying and supporting the boy thanks to Rizzo’s tweets.
Now Henry has a special summer to look forward to.
